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ICT: Fourth Strongest Sector in Spanish Economy

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The importance of IT relative to a country’s GDP is one of the indicators of economic development. Although the Spanish ICT sector remains far from the European average, it has seen unprecedented growth in recent years, and is currently the economy’s fourth strongest, ahead of both agriculture and energy. According to the 2009 edition of the BIT study in Spain, conducted by IESE in collaboration with the UCLA Anderson School of Management, ICT has been a driver of growth for Spain.

Telecom in Spain Not in Line With E.U. Average

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Spain needs to stimulate competition in the telecommunications sector to bring rates and user levels in line with the European average. It must also introduce appropriate regulation to promote the expansion of next-generation networks. A new report by IESE’s Ángel Luis Lopez and Sandra Jódar Rosell contributes to the debate over which measures would be most effective.

Amy Shuen: How Web 2.0 Can Help Your Business Do More with Less

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Silicon Valley expert and bestselling author Amy Shuen suggests how budget-constrained managers can harness the power of Web 2.0 to multiply the effects of their existing networks and resources faster and more powerfully than ever before. The enterprise of the 21st century is going to look very much like a Web 2.0 community, she says, and executives need to learn how to manage the important social, business and industry transformation that is occurring now. (Video available)

The Role of Culture on Technology Adoption

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Technology adoption across nations is an important aspect of economic development, as countries with more advanced technologies could become future economic powerhouses. Richard M. Steers, Alan D. Meyer and Carlos J. Sanchez-Runde explore this understudied area to determine the role national cultural differences play in the adoption of emerging technologies.

Truth, Lies and Audiotape: Finding Fibbers Before Hiring Them

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

For many recruiters, Pinocchio would make the ideal job interview candidate - his truth-bending would be as plain as the nose on his face, allowing employers to avoid wasting valuable time and money hiring the wrong candidate. Unfortunately, doctored CVs and evasive interviews are no fairy tale but an all-too-frequent reality that managers would love to be able to catch before the hiring process has gone too far. In "Detecting Deception in Computer-Mediated Interviewing," IESE's Gabriel Giordano and three colleagues describe the potential benefits and risks associated with ferreting out falsehoods using audio- and text-based interview techniques.

Two Speeds for Adopting ICT in Spanish Companies

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The adoption of technology by Spanish companies is progressing at a steady rate, although large companies are moving ahead faster than small- and medium-sized firms. For the second edition of the BIT (Business Information Technologies) study, IESE professors Sandra Sieber and Josep Valor surveyed CIOs and department heads in charge of information systems. If the forecasts of survey respondents turn out to be accurate, this imbalance will be gradually reduced up until 2010 as SMEs adopt more sophisticated technologies. (Audio included)

Europe Slower To Answer iPhone Call

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Phones were ringing off the hook when Apple launched its iPhone in the United States last summer. A record-breaking one million units were sold in 74 days - it took the iPod nearly two years to hit the million mark. This nifty new gadget, combining a phone, web and iPod into one handy device, appeared every bit as revolutionary as Steve Jobs promised it would be, not least for the unprecedented revenue-sharing deal that Apple brokered with mobile carriers. Yet the iPhone's arrival in Europe a few months later has not rung quite so many bells. Indeed, as a new IESE study of the iPhone case reveals, there are several fundamental flaws to resolve before Europe takes the call.

Four Keys To Combat Myths About IS Offshoring

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Information Systems (IS) are being outsourced at a speed that's alarming to IS professionals. With so much IS work going abroad, it seems as if the field is disappearing in developed countries altogether. Or is it? In "Offshoring and Its Implications for the Information Systems Discipline: Where Perception Meets Reality," several professors including Josep Valor of IESE explore the widespread beliefs about where the IS field is headed, and they propose what IS professionals can do to bolster the field and attract new talent.

Setting Up a Firewall Against Burnout

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

IT manager Joe is already working 60-hour weeks when his boss orders him to implement that whiz-bang technology everyone's talking about, not so much because his company needs it, but because the competition has it. Suddenly, those 60-hour weeks seem like a vacation. Worse than feeling angry or anxious, Joe feels nothing at all. Joe is a classic case headed for burnout. In the paper "Focusing the Research Agenda on Burnout in IT: Social Representations of Burnout in the Profession," Suzanne D. Pawlowski, IESE's Evgeny A. Káganer and John J. Cater III capture and analyze the perspectives on burnout among IT professionals - a little understood area of growing concern.

Where Is Technology Outsourcing Leading Us?

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Outsourcing business processes has its advantages, but it also brings risk. In order to deal with these risks, companies must know what options are offered to them by outsourcing, a term gaining in popularity among executives. In the paper "Outsourcing ICT Services and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)" ("La externalización de los servicios de TIC y el Business Process Outsourcing)," IESE information systems professors Sandra Sieber and Josep Valor, along with specialized consultant Valentín Porta, identify the different types of outsourcing available to companies, and offer analysis as to what the future holds for this 15-year-old practice.